Full Court Ruling: Chief Justice On Unions v Govt
The Chief Justice handed down his ruling today in the dispute involving the Unions and Government, saying that while the Unions “acted unlawfully” in “taking irregular action short of a strike”, he refused to grant the Government’s application for permanent injunction as it would “serve as a threat hanging over the Respondents’ head.”
The case was the Minister of Home Affairs v BIU, BPSU, BUT, Prison Officers Association and Fire Officers Association; and was predicated by the 3-day industrial action in January of last year over furlough days.
As far as costs of the case, the Chief Justice said, “Because of the unusually strong public interest in the parties to the present litigation making an effective and sustainable fresh start to delicate and difficult negotiations which undoubtedly lie ahead, my strong provisional view is that each side should bear its own costs.”
The ruling said, “The Occupy Cabinet Office campaign proudly described in the BPSU pamphlet was doubtless a morally justified triumph in labour terms as regards the narrow issue in question. I am however bound to find that it was not a lawful response to a provocative letter which merely threatened future, but not imminent, wrongful conduct on the Government’s part.”
The ruling addressed the island’s finances, saying: “The Minister of Finance has formed the view, which this Court does not question, that the public interest requires negotiations with the Respondents in relation to several CBAs and a restructuring of the public sector to prevent the continuation of a potentially calamitous decline of Bermuda’s public finances with indirect adverse consequences for the wider economy.
“Such negotiations cannot be successfully pursued if the Unions are permitted at their whim to engage in mass demonstrations and thumb their nose at applicable trade union law.”
The ruling also said, “The furlough day battle may have been won, but the war against a public debt crisis which could, if not addressed, ultimately transfer control of the country’s finances to its lenders, remained to be fought. From an objective standpoint, the parties appear to have a shared interest in supporting the Government’s economic recovery plan.
“According to the largely uncontested evidence, this recovery requires promoting Bermuda as a stable and sophisticated 21st century investment destination. It would seem to follow that this requires Bermuda to develop sustainable and sophisticated 21st century labour relations as well.
“Whether the parties use the present public finances crisis as an opportunity to further their shared interests and the wider public interest in a consistently collaborative manner is entirely in their own hands.
“While it may be Western linguistic `spin’ to suggest that the Chinese characters for crisis and opportunity are precisely the same, it is probably a truism that crises can indeed be converted into opportunities with the right will.”
A statement from the BTUC following the ruling said, “The Chief Justice’s ruling now prevents employers from unilaterally changing terms and conditions of employment for all workers. Today the Chief Justice ruled in favour of the Union’s by refusing to grant a permanent injunction. It is now clear that the letter dated the 23rd January 2015 ignited the dispute between Government and the public sector workers of Bermuda.”
Speaking after the ruling, Minister of Home Affairs Michael Fahy said, “The Government agrees that this represents an opportunity to create better relationships with the Unions and looks forward to engaging with them to build on previous collaborative efforts in order to deal effectively with our public debt crisis through prudent fiscal measures and sustainable public sector finances.”
The 45-page ruling follows below [PDF here]:
David slew Goliath .
and the Grouchy Guy eventually ate the green eggs and ham from sam-i-am.
both stories have the same amount of chance of being true.
i prefer the story of mister tickle
toodles!
You really don’t read very well do you… the judgement went against both parties
Congratulations Unions and Workers!
The Rights of Workers should stand and be acknowledge.
Continue to Stand together as One.
United we Stand!
Confabulation workers, your executive have been ruled to have broken the laws and contracts on your behalf… without first seeking your opinion on such course of action that opens you all up to libellous action.
You might want to read it. The court isn’t sympathetic to the unions holding the rest of us to ransom.
There’s no injunction, but the unions can’t pull sht in the future. That’s obvious.
I would not say that was very obvious. The unions have learned that they can break the law without consequences. In fact they get a big PR push, so really this is reward from the court for breaking the law.
Hilariously, the government did not break the law and is similarly admonished by the court as if they had. So the message is that the union is free to do whatever they please legal or otherwise, and we will be seeing more of that later.
Thank you for your input… I’m most certain you had all the fact laid out in from of you for you to come to that conclusion correct? The Chief Justice clearly saw what your Govt was attempting to do and has put a stop to it… The Union did not just up and decide to walk out..
Well you wouldn’t think it’s obvious unless you read it.
The ancestors and Fallen Freedom Fighters are smiling down on us, good news on MLK Birthday.
Now let’s Occupy Bermuda before these Dreamers give it away to, as SpongeBob says, to old rich white men.
Does this mean that the barer of the cost is going to be handed to the members? I guess the dues will go up.
Or government taxes…. Who you think is paying for the OBA’s private foreign legal team.
If you don’t know it’s. It is we the people, so govt vs Union = Union workers pay twice, but we all get( F.. fill in the blank) ….
Rhonda, who do you think is paying for:
$2 Billion in debt after only 14 years in government.
$500 million in interest on repayment loans from the debt.
$800 million in “lost & unaccounted money” …where is it and who got it.
At least with the OBA government we know where money is being spent. How much can you tell me about what was spent during the PLP years?
Soon come.
OBA was a ‘Bully’ in this situation and tried to use the law to force a result.
Good won this time but OH BOY, 2017 is far away
So??? It is now official, the unions acted unlawful!!! With that said, what is the judicial system that has NO backbone going to do about the UNLAWFUL actions of the unions????
“The ruling also said, “The furlough day battle may have been won, but the war against a public debt crisis which could, if not addressed, ultimately transfer control of the country’s finances to its lenders, remained to be fought. From an objective standpoint, the parties appear to have a shared interest in supporting the Government’s economic recovery plan.”
Very interesting comments from the Chief Justice!! Sadly this comment will probably not be taken seriously by the unions and their supporters?? With that said, I actually look forward to the day it happens, because that is the only way the unions and their supporters will finally understand the seriousness of our financial problems!! When the day comes that the lenders take over, believe me when I tell you all, they will not care one bit how much you march or carry on unlawfully, when they say you have no job, they will mean what they said and will NEVER back down!!!
It is also official that the Government, in a letter to the unions, threatened the use of wrongful conduct, which incited the illegal action.
And it’s also official that the unions acted unlawfully, while the government did not.
Take a seat lil guy, the Chief Justice has spoken… Or maybe he’s just not ‘smart enough’ the OBA gov’t in their usual arrogance got egg in their face and should sit down right next to you.
Did you read the judgement?
The Chief Justice actually ruled against both sides.
what exactly do you take unlawful to mean?
Why is the BUT considering an appeal?
The only comfort you can take from this is that the CJ told everybody to cool off and get along.
@Kangoocar
Never going to happen.
The OBA sent a letter threatening an illegal action that was met with an actual illegal action.
To pursue the Unions on it would just create bad blood that would impede any progress on cost cutting measures, or set those already in place back. The hiring freeze has already resulted in grumblings due to perceived shortages in manpower, legal action against the Unions for a dispute where both sides were wrong will result in further industrial action.
Both sides need to act in utmost good faith. Open and honest dialogue is needed and feelings need to be left at the door. The Unions need to protect the interest of their members while the Government needs to protect the financial independence of the country.
The conversations to come will be very tense but NEED to be productive. There will HAVE to be concessions and compromises on everyone’s part, as the alternative is the UK dissolving our Government and administering our little island until our debt is manageable. Were we to reject that reality and have a snap independence referendum that passes it will be our lenders that end up running the country once the loans dry up and Government’s financial obligations (salaries, pensions etc) can not be met.
Thank goodness the judicial system has backbone.I guess you were feeling great, Kangoocar,when that same system ruled that there was a loophole for hundreds of people waiting to gain citizenship.Now that tables now turn differently for the unions, you are calling judicial actions UNLAWFUL.
Guess that you cannot have all of your cake AND eat it too!!
Um, no. The judge called the union’s actions unlawful.
Another unlawful action but … oh well. Move on. Nothing to see here.
” With that said, I actually look forward to the day it happens, because that is the only way the unions and their supporters will finally understand the seriousness of our financial problems!!”
Pretty strong way to prove a point mate, heh heh sink the boat dammit I told them they should have learned how to swim….wtf!?
United We Stand
Divided You Fall
If so united, why was a vote never taken to decide the course of action on the furlough days??
Some very selective understanding going on over this ruling. Both sides were chastised and warned to get it together by working together.
Just for the record, the permanent injunction was sought by Michael Fahy not Bob Richards. Second time he has taken the Unions to court and lost. Last time he tried this was in May 2015. Hmmmm… Maybe it is time for the OBA to hold its Ministers more accountable … I am not a great fan of the Unions – BIU in particular but it didn’t take rocket science to figure that it would be illegal to prevent someone from protecting themselves against something that has not yet occurred.
So far the auditor has not reported that even $800 are unaccounted for. During PLP years $800 million went poooof into thin air. Do you really want to talk about being accountable?
We the people get the government we ask for, Some enjoy the OBA aka Trump like nasty, Bullying politics.
Oba’s condescending, contemp, disdain for anything or anyone not perceived to bow to them.
Sadly, no one is focusing on the root cause exactly what fueled this walkout, which was the threat by the oba….
Hopefully both heed the lesson and respect each side as equals….
Agree Pastor Syl.
Both sides have been called out on this. There was unlawful action. Let’s remember that BUT the real message is the warning the judge made about the result if cooperation is t achieved.
Do you think the folks involved here are able to look beyond their individual points of view, platforms and positions and do what is in the ultimate best interests of the country at a very critical time?
If they are then that is true leadership. If they can’t the. It’s more of the juvenile posing that has come to be the approach of Bermuda politics and union relations and representation.
I hold out home that these folks act in a responsible manner for a change. Please our children’s country depends on it.
I suggest we analyze the ruling and decide if helps greater Bermuda. Winning? Losing? Grow up.
some of us can’t accept the fact that the government landed on its feet and and unions will either have to behave or be fined heavily for every day of illegal activity. The BPSU has never been in this situation, the BIU model will cost them financially if they follow that lot
I wonder why overseas investors pass Bermuda by and go else where to do their business ? Now you know !
How do you know when the country hits rock bottom ?
When you can no feed your children !